The Fifth Constitutional Convention of the U.S. Virgin Islands was a constitutional convention of the United States Virgin Islands. It was authorized by Pub.L. 94-584 (94 Stat. 2899), and implemented by the 25th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 30 delegates to the convention were elected in 2007, and a proposed Constitution was passed by the convention in May 2009. In response to the proposed constitution, Congress passed Pub.L. 111-194 (24 Stat. 1309) which rejected the Constitution by sending it back to the convention and urged the convention to reconvene.
The Virgin Islands government is organized under the provisions of the Revised Organic Act of 1954 and the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1916.[1][2] The proposed constitution would not affect the Virgin Islands' status as a Non-Self-Governing Territory as determined by the United Nations, but would only organize existing internal governance arrangements.[2]
Elections were held for delegates in the 2007 United States Virgin Islands Constitutional Convention election. The convention passed a proposed constitution in May 2009,[2] and submitted it to Virgin Islands Gov. John P. de Jongh on June 1, 2009.[3] After initially declining to forward the proposal to the "administering power", the President of the United States, de Jongh sent the draft to President Barack Obama in December 2009.[3] The proposed constitution was submitted by the President to the United States Congress on March 1, 2010.[4] According to Pub.L. 94-584, Congress could approve, amend, or modify the constitution by joint resolution, or the constitution would be automatically approved if Congress did not act within 60 days. Instead, Congress passed Pub.L. 111-194 (24 Stat. 1309) which provided that Congress would send the Constitution back to the convention and urge the convention to reconvene.